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DEPARTMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE
REPRESENTATIVE FACILITIES AND HOUSE OF MANANNA
DIVISION
There has been over the 14 years since the House of Manannan first opened, a consistent demand from our visitors for onsite care.
Over the years, comments in the visitor's book have consistently included requests for refreshment facilities on the premises. Many comments complementing the facility are followed by 'what a pity there is no care facility on site'.
The museum attracts 40 to 50 thousand visitors per year peaking at over 2000 visitors per week during the summer months of July and August. As it can take up to 2 ½ hours to fully explore the galleries in the House of Manannan, customers anticipate being able to purchase some sort of refreshment during the course of their visit.
Around 50% of our visitors spend one to two hours at the site with a further 40% staying for from two to three hours or over.
Patrons regularly have to curtail their visit in order to leave the premises in search of a meal or refreshments or ask that they be allowed to return to the site at a later time. Visitor satisfaction surveys (which have been in use since 2009) reflect the comments in the visitor book with requests made for tea rooms and a café.
The demand for on-site refreshments for time restricted visitors has also been highlighted by the recent growth in coach tour patrons. Many coach tour timetables do not allow passengers enough time in the town to both visit the museum and walk into the town for refreshments. Often they will do neither opting to browse in the shop at the House of Manannan or just relax in the foyer or forecourt areas.
It is believed that the provision of on-site coffee shop facilities would serve to enhance the visitor experience, attract new customers to the site benefiting the heritage shop, and provide an additional income source for the MNH organisation as well as adding to the café culture / quayside ambience of the marina setting.
During the summer of 2009 the demand for tea, coffee, cakes and biscuits was tested at the House of Manannan by the installation of a drinks vending machine in a corner of the reception area. Cakes and biscuits were on sale at the shop/reception counter and comfy chairs and coffee tables were laid out in the main foyer. However, although the market for refreshment facilities on site was proved, the public were not won over by the self-service vending machine option, remaining unconvinced of the quality of the product that a vending machine could offer.
Basic vending machine refreshment facilities continue to be available in the reception area, however it is considered that a full coffee shop would provide more attractive facilities for House of Manannan visitors and visiting coach/cruise patrons that may not have time to take the full visit to the House of Manannan galleries.
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A suitable ground floor location for the coffee shop has been identified in the area currently used, during a small number of weeks each year, for educational purposes. An alternative location has been identified within House of Manannan for the Educational workshops etc. The proposed coffee shop facilities are fully self contained having three entrances, one internal doorway through the House of Manannan reception foyer, a large external doorway that leads directly onto the forecourt area at the front of the main entrance to the building and a large rear doorway suitable for service deliveries. The coffee shop also has its own toilet facilities.
It is considered that the location could be converted to provide a coffee shop without detrimental effect to the existing surroundings.
The proposed coffee shop area has a particularly pleasant aspect opening onto the sunny forecourt area at the front of the building which would provide the ability to have additional 'out of door' seating overlooking the marina during the busier summer months enhancing the continental ambience of the marina/east quay area.
As the area is on the ground floor and accessible to non HOM visitors as well as HOM visitors, patronage would not be restricted to HOM users only. This could bring additional local patronage to the site and especially the heritage shop and newly refurbished exhibition gallery.
Locations for youth groups to meet in social surroundings have been identified as a need in the regeneration consultations. The location of the proposed coffee shop allows us to open it independently of HOM so that it could be offered to provide such facilities to youth groups in the evenings as well as being open to service early morning demand generally.
Margaret Jones
01.7.11
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